US urges its citizens to flee Venezuela amid reports of paramilitaries | Trump administration
The United States has urged its citizens to leave Venezuela immediately, following reports that armed paramilitary forces are trying to track down US citizens a week after the capture of Nicolás Maduro, the South American country’s president.
One security warning In a statement sent on Saturday, the State Department said there were reports of armed members of pro-regime militias. collectivessetting up roadblocks and searching vehicles for evidence that the occupants were U.S. citizens or supporters of the country.
“U.S. citizens in Venezuela need to exercise caution and caution when traveling by road,” the warning said, and called on citizens to depart immediately due to the resumption of some international flights from Venezuela.
Speaking to the New York Times last week, Donald Trump said he wanted to visit Venezuela in the future after claiming he was “ruling” the South American country after the US deposed its leaders in a deadly nighttime attack on Caracas. “I think it will be safe at some point,” the US president told reporters.
However, the Foreign Ministry’s warning revealed how volatile the situation was following last weekend’s raid by special forces in which many people were killed.
While many Venezuelan opponents of Maduro’s regime celebrated his capture by the United States, government supporters took to the streets to denounce his extradition as an act of imperialist aggression.
Reporters and activists in Caracas saw rifle-carrying members of the collectives driving around the Venezuelan capital on motorcycles and setting up checkpoints around the city. The roads connecting Caracas to the western border are policed by dozens of military and police checkpoints.
State Department officials visited Caracas on Friday as part of preparations for the reopening of the US embassy there. Maduro’s successor, acting president Delcy Rodríguez, called for improved relations with Washington despite the kidnapping of his ally.
